You Know Why
by MissMoMo1990
Summary: 2k12 Turtles! WARNING! This story contains mild TCest! Pairing: Raph Leo Summary: Immediately following the events of "The Outlaw Armaggon". The tables are turned when Leo finds himself being lectured by Raph after their narrow escape from the doomed space station.


" **You Know Why"**

 **Setting: 2k12 Turtles!**

 **WARNING! This story contains mild TCest!**

 **Rating: PG-13**

 **Pairing: Raph** **Leo**

 **Summary: Immediately following the events of "The Outlaw Armaggon". The tables are turned when Leo finds himself being lectured by Raph after their narrow escape from the doomed space station.**

"So, at least we don't have to worry about Armaggon anymore."

Leonardo's comment disrupted the silence of the equipment bay of the Fugitoid's large space ship _Ulixes_. He was speaking to the room's only other occupant Raphael who had his back to Leonardo as he carefully stripped away his spacesuit. Receiving no response, the young leader frowned slightly.

"Raph?" he inquired, wondering if his brother hadn't heard him. Leo had already hung up his own spacesuit and now turned in Raph's direction. The other turtle still gave no sign of acknowledgement so Leo raised his voice. "Raph? Did you hear what I said?"

Raph did actually, but he was choosing to ignore Leo. He continued to undress while staring at the wall in front of him. Just as he finished pulling off his footwear, a hand gripped him by the shoulder and spun him around until he was face to face with Leo.

"Are you deaf?" Leo asked with a hint of irritation. "I've been speaking to you for the last five minutes."

He watched as Raph's blank expression morph quickly. The red-masked ninja's forehead scrunched, his green eyes narrowed, and his lips curled into a sneer. Raph's sudden anger surprised Leo and he lifted his hand off of his sibling's shoulder before it could be smacked away.

"No, I'm not deaf!" Raph snapped. He poked a large finger in Leo's chest none-too-gently. "But you obviously are!"

Now Leo was confused. Raph hadn't said a word to him since they had headed down here so what could possibly be the basis for his accusation? Arching an eye ridge at the shorter turtle, Leo rubbed at the spot where his plastron had been prodded.

"No, it's not obvious because I have no idea what you mean," he replied, keeping his tone level. "So how about you explain it to me?"

"Oh, so you're deaf _and_ stupid?" Raph replied. Placing his hands on his hips, he eyed his brother scornfully. "Yeah, those are really great qualities I look for in a leader!"

"Okay, what is your deal, Raphael?" Leo demanded, his anger rising at this unwarranted attack. "What have I done to piss you off this time?"

The sai-wielder answered the questions by asking his own. "Why did you go out to face Armaggon by yourself? What the shell were you thinking? I told you to stop pulling stunts like that!"

"He was attacking the ship!" Leo defended, folding his arms over his chest. He didn't understand why this was an issue for Raph. Surely, his hot-headed sibling would have done the same thing if Leo hadn't beat him to it. "What else was I supposed to do? Just stand there and let it happen?"

"You were supposed to come with a plan for your team so we could have fought him together!"

"There wasn't time!"

"Yes, there was!"

"A minute longer and Armaggon would have disabled the ship completely!"

"You don't know that!"

"Neither do you!"

In the span of their short exchange, Raph and Leo had subconsciously advanced on each other. Raph now had to crane his neck back in order to look at his older turtle's face. Both teens' tempers had been riled and the redness in their cheeks reflected that.

"I know that if it wasn't for me and Mikey, you would have been shark food!" Raph argued, poking Leo's chest once again.

"I didn't need your help!" the katana-wielder denied as he pushed Raph's hand aside. "I was handling Armaggon just fine!"

"Oh, yeah, I could see that!" Raph scoffed sarcastically. "That's why I ran to pull you back on the ship before he bit your leg off!"

"Do you want me to grovel at your feet and thank you for doing that?" Leo wondered. "Is that what this is about?"

"No, it's about you realizing that you were acting like a moron!" Raph corrected. Placing the palm of his right hand on Leo's chest, he shoved his brother back a step. "Stop living in your _Space Heroes_ fanboy fantasy! You're not Captain Ryan! You're not going to save the day on a fluke and then make some wisecrack about it!"

"I'm not pretending…" Leo started to say, his face flaming with indignation.

"Bull!" the hothead interrupted. "You've been roleplaying as that cartoon idiot ever since we ended up on this ship!" Reaching out with both hands, he latched on to Leo's shoulders and gave him a rough shake. "Snap the hell out of it! We have an actual job to do! We're not going to save Earth if you sacrifice yourself trying to defeat every enemy we meet! Remember what happened the last time you tried to do that? You ended up unconscious in a freaking bathtub for three months! Three months, Leo!"

"….Raph…"

"Do you want that to happen again?!" Raph continued, refusing to allow Leo a chance to protest. He gave the taller turtle another shake. "What if instead of a coma you end up dead?! Why are you so willing to risk that, Leo?! Why would you do that to our family?!" A mixture of emotions was now stirring rapidly inside Raph and they all tried to spill out at once. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes and his voice cracked as his grip on Leo tightened. "Why would you do that to me?!"

Stunned, Leo was at a loss for words. He stared wide-eyed at Raph who was panting slightly from his outburst. Seconds ticked by and slowly Leo raising his hands to tug Raph's off his shoulders.

"…Raph…" Leo began again as he wove their fingers together. His anger had disappeared completely at the sight of his brother's distress. "…you're right. I should have thought things over better. I'm sorry. I didn't realize my actions would affect you so much."

"Everything you do affects me…" Raph mumbled, suddenly unable to hold Leo's gaze.

"And why is that?" the blue-masked ninja asked and the corner of his mouth lifted into a smirk.

Raphael blushed hard. He tried to pull his hands away, but Leo's grasp was strong. "…you know why…"

Leonardo knew alright. It had only been a week after he had woken up at April's farmhouse and a day after they battled The Creep that Raph had confessed to having feelings for Leo, feelings that ran deeper than brotherhood or friendship. They had been alone at the river that ran through the woods surrounding the farm, talking about everything that had happened since the day they fled New York City when Raph had blurted it out. To the hothead's great astonishment and joy, Leo had admitted to thinking of Raph the same way. Their first kiss by the waterside had been awkward, but they had plenty of chances to improve since then.

Leo released Raph's right hand so that he could cup his little brother's chin and tilt it so that their eyes met once more. "I still want to hear you say it."

"…because…because I…love you…" Raph finally stammered.

"I love you, too," Leo stated softly.

Leaning down, he pressed his lips to Raph's. The sai-wielder returned the kiss instantly, pulling his other hand free so that he could wrap both arms around his brother. Leo did likewise, tangling the tails of Raph's mask in his fingers as their kiss gradually intensified. They had been given little privacy since their journey into space and neither one had realized how much they had missed each other until this moment. The two lovers wished that it could last forever, but a need for fresh breath forced them to separate after some minutes.

"You smell like fire and space dust," Raph commented.

"So do you," the leader rebutted, resting his nose against his subordinate's.

"How long did Professor Honeycutt say it would take for us to catch up with the Triceraton fleet?" Raph asked as a wonderfully erotic idea came to mind.

"At least a full day," Leo told him.

The red-masked ninja grinned from ear to ear. "That should give us plenty of time to shower then, right?"

A matching smile broke across Leo's face as he caught on to Raph's unspoken suggestion. "Right."

"Race you there," Raph challenged.

Stepping out of Leo's embrace, he didn't give the eldest a chance to respond before he took off for the stairs. Leo blinked twice, slow to realize what had just happened. He turned around and spotted Raph halfway up the stairs. Chuckling, Leo gave chase and soon matched his brother step for step.


End file.
